Can people with diabetes eat sweets? The answer is yes. But when you’re ready to buy sweets, it can be hard to know what you can buy (sugar-free or low-calorie foods). Don’t worry, here are some initial tips to help you make a more informed choice.
The original face of sweets
Keep the following things in mind when comparing sweeteners.
- Sugars are naturally occurring carbohydrates, including brown sugar, sucrose, granulated sugar, fructose, honey, and syrup, that contain calories and can raise blood sugar levels.
- Low-calorie sweeteners are sugar alcohols such as isomaltitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol, which are usually found in sugar-free candy and gum. They contain about half the calories of sugar and can raise blood sugar levels, although not as much as those contained in other carbohydrates.
- Artificial sweeteners are considered “sugar-free foods” and have been developed in the lab to contain no calories and not raise blood sugar levels.
Types of artificial sweeteners
Artificial low-calorie sweeteners include the following.
- Sweetener: Can be used in both hot and cold foods. Avoid this sweetener if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Aspartame: Can be used in both hot and cold foods, but sweetness decreases at high temperatures. People with phenylketonuria should avoid this sweetener.
- Potassium acetyl sulfamate or acesulfame: Can be used in both hot and cold foods, including baking and cooking.
- Saccharose Sucralose: Can be used in both hot and cold foods, including baking and cooking. It is commonly found in processed foods.
- High sweeteners: Can be used in baked goods, soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, candy, frosting, frozen desserts, gelatin and puddings, jams and jellies, processed fruits and juices, toppings and syrups.
- Neotame (a functional sweetener).
.
Experience what’s beyond the words
You also need to appreciate the meaning of the following expressions beyond the words.
- Sugar-free or sugar-free: While the category may contain sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, it is completely sugar-free.
- No added sugar: No additional sugar is added during processing. However, the original ingredients may contain sugar, such as fructose in fruit juice. Additional sweeteners, such as sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, may also have been added.
- Low calorie: This category may be low in calories, but the term includes many other meanings.
Read the Nutrition Facts label
To determine what sweeteners a food contains, consult the Nutrition Facts label. In the carbohydrate section, you can see how many carbohydrates are in the food and how many sugars or sugar alcohols are in those carbohydrates.
For more nutritional information, read the ingredient list. Whether the sweeteners contained are sugars, sugar alcohols, or artificial sweeteners, the list will list them all.
Learn more about artificial sweeteners and diabetes to help you make better food choices while balancing your sugar intake to control your blood sugar.